February 5, 2014

Comparison Of School Funding In Detroit Troy Birmingham And Grand Rapids

Here is a comparison of current budgets for education for the cities of Troy, Detroit and Birmingham, Michigan.

Funds from the state as a percentage of their total budget are larger in Troy then Detroit by 13%. Funds from the state and federal government as a percent of their respective total budgets are 10% greater in Detroit.

I used Troy in this analysis because it is a suburb of Detroit and I believe it is a representative suburban city in southeast Michigan.

The chart below compares a wealthier suburb, Birmingham, to Detroit. The major difference is Detroit got much more of its revenue per pupil from federal revenue and Birmingham collected more revenue per pupil from the citizens of Birmingham.

The chart below compares Grand Rapids to Detroit. Detroit received more revenue per pupil from all sources which suggest that Grand Rapids is operating more efficiently.